Guillotines or the like machines

ABSTRACT

The knife holder of a guillotine or the like machine has an operating arm which is connected to one end of a link, the other end of the link being pivotally connected eccentrically to a crank disc. The arrangement is such that when the knife is at its lowermost position, the pivot axes of the crank disc and of each end of the link are in line thus preventing further downward movement of the knife.

United States Patent [1 1 Zadow Dec. 25, 1973 GUILLOTINES OR THE LIKE MACHINES [75] Inventor: Herbert Zadow, Stockport, England [73] Assignee: Victory Kidder Limited, London,

England [22] Filed: Aug. 30, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 284,921

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Sept. 2, 1971 Great Britain 40945/71 [52] US. Cl. 83/643, 83/590 [51] Int. Cl 326d 5/12 [58] Field of Search 83/590, 642, 643

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Berry 83/643 2,778,341 1/1957 Papanoli et al. 83/643 X Primary ExaminerWillie G. Abercrombie Attorney-Lawrence R. Brown [5 7 ABSTRACT The knife holder of a guillotine or the like machine has an operating arm which is connected to one end of a link, the other end of the link being pivotally connected eccentrically to a crank disc. The arrangement is such that when the knife is at its lowermost position, the pivot axes of the crank disc and of each end of the link are in line thus preventing further downward movement of the knife.

7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENT EB D582 5 I375 'SHEET 2 OF 3 Pmmggmesms 7 9,5 0

' 1 arm 3 or 3 Q GUILLOTINES OR THE LIKE MACHINES This invention relates to guillotines or the like machines and, more particularly, to guillotines or the like machines having a member which is movable towards and away from another member to process stock disposed between the two members.

In some types of guillotine, the knife carrier is driven by means of a piston and cylinder unit but this form of drive has disadvantages. For example, expansion of the material of the piston and cylinder and varying temperature of the oil in the cylinder can result in the stroke of the piston having varying'limits with a result that the knife is not reversed at a precise instant and it either does not cut the bottom sheets of the stack or it damages the cutting stick.

These disadvantages may be due to varying valve and electrical relay delay times, differences in knife decelration after the pressure fluid is directed to the lift side of the cylinder and change of angle of contact of the cutting knife with the top sheet of a stack through different frame deflections.

An object of the present invention is to provide a guillotine or the like machine having arresting means for arresting movement of a movable member of the machine relative to another member of the machine.

According to the present invention there is provided a guillotine or the link machine having a movable member which is movable towards and away from another member of the machine to process stock disposed between the two members and having arresting means for arresting movement of the movable member, wherein the arresting means includes a pivotable member pivotably mounted on the machine and an elongated member one end of which is pivotably connected to the pivotable member and the other end of which is coupled to the movable member so that the elongated member is moved by the movable member until the pivot axis connecting the coupling and the elongated member, the pivot axis connecting the elongated member and the pivotable member and the pivot axis of the pivotable member are in line when movement of the movable member is arrested by the elongated member.

The invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of one example of the invention in the form of a guillotine, showing a knife carrier of the guillotine during its cutting stroke.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the knife carrier at the end of its cutting stroke FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the knife carrier at the beginning of its upward stroke FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIGS. 1 to 3 showing the knife carrier in a raised position, and

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of another example of the invention in the form of a guillotine.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the guillotine knife carrier 1 on which is mounted a knife (not shown) is movable towards and away from a table 2 to cut stock disposed between the knife carrier and the table. The knife carrier is an elongated member having a link 3 pivotally connected at 4 to one end of the knife carrier and a lever 5 pivotally connected at 6 to the other end of the knife carrier. The link 3 is pivotally connected at 7 to a frame (not shown) and the lever 5 also is pivotally connected, intermediate its ends at 8, to the the frame.

For controlling movement of the knife carrier relative to the table 2, there is provided an operating member, generally designated 9, and arresting means, generally designated 10.

The operating member 9 is a double acting pistoncylinder unit the piston rod 11 of which is pivotally connected at 12 to the end of the lever 5 distant from the pivot 6, and the cylinder 13 of which is pivotally mounted on a spigot 14 on the frame. There is a supply/exhaust line 15 communicating with one end of the cylinder and a supply/exhaust line 16 communicating with the opposite end of the cylinder.

Also pivotally connected at 12 to the end of the lever 5 is one end of a link 17, the other end of which is pivotally connected at 18 to a crank disc 19 pivotally mounted on a spigot 20 on the frame. Means 21 is provided on the link 17 for adjusting the distance between the pivot axis 12 and the spigot 20. An auxiliary pistoncylinder unit 22 is pivotally mounted on a spigot 23 of the frame and the piston rod 24 of the piston-cylinder unit 22 is pivotally connected at 25 to the crank disc 19. The supply/exhaust line 16 communicates with the cylinder of the piston-cylinder unit 22 as well as the cylinder 13 of the operating member 9 but the branch 16a of the line 16 serving the unit 22 has an orifice 16b for restricting oil leaving the unit 22 but oil entering the cylinder is permitted to flow unrestricted through a check value 160. The link 17, the crank disc 19 and the auxiliary piston-cylinder unit 22 together comprise the arresting means 10.

On the crank disc 19, there is a cam 26 and on the machine there is a limit switch 27 which is part of a control circuit (not shown) for controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid in the lines 15 and 16. The cam 26 and the switch 27 are arranged so that as the crank disc 19 moves to a position in which the pivot axes 12 and 18 and the axis of the spigot 20 are in line, the cam 26 operates the switch 27.

Assuming that the knife carrier 1 is in a raised position and that stock to be processed in positioned on the table below the knife then, when the machine is operated, hydraulic fluid is pumped to the cylinder 12 through the line 15. The piston rod 11 is lifted and the lever 5 and link 3 are pivoted in an anti-clockwise direction (see FIG. 1) about the pivot axes 8 and 7 respectively and as a result the knife carrier 1 executes a cutting stroke in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1. As the knife carrier 1 moves downwardly, the lever 5 draws the link 17 upwardly and the movement of the link causes the crank disc 19 to pivot in a clockwise direction (see FIG. 1) about the axis of the spigot 20.

As the knife carrier approaches the end of the cutting stroke, the piston of the auxiliary piston-cylinder unit 22 is lifted in the cylinder by the crank disc 19 and the resistance caused by the restriction in the line 16 to fluid which is being driven out of the auxiliary pistoncylinder unit 22 by the piston of the unit exerts a decelerating effect on the pivoting movement of the crank disc 19 and thus on the knife carrier 1.

However, the knife carrier 1 continues to move towards the table until the pivot axes 12 and 18 and the axis of the spigot 20 are in line, until this instant, the lever 5 pivots in an anticlockwise direction about the pivot axis 9(see FIG. 1) and the crank disc 19 pivots in a clockwise direction about the axis of the spigot 20 (see FIG. 1) but at this instant the lever 5 and the crank disc 19 cannot continue to move in their counterrotative directions because they are connected by the link 17. Thus their movement and the knife carrier 1 is arrested. The knife carrier is now at the end of its cutting stroke (see FIG. 2).

As the axes 12, 18 and 20 approach an in line position, the cam 26 operates the switch 27 which reverses the flow of hydraulic fluid to the cylinder 13 and fluid is supplied to the cylinder 13 through the line 16 instead of the line 15. In this manner fluid enters the cylinder 13 and the cylinder of the piston-cylinder unit 22 above their pistons (see FIG. 3) but the piston rod 11 cannot move downwardly while the axes 12, 18 and 20 are in line.

The piston of the auxiliary piston cylinder unit 22 however is moved downwardly in the cylinder by the fluid being pumped along the line 16 and 16a flowing unrestricted through the check valve 16c and the piston rod 24 pivots the crank disc 19 in an anti-clockwise direction about the spigot 20 thereby moving the pivot axis 18 out of an in line position with the pivot axis 12 and the axis of the spigot 20. Thus, the piston rod 11 then is free to be moved downwardly and the effect of fluid entering the cylinder 13 through the line 16 is to lower the piston rod and pivot the lever in a clockwise direction about the pivot 8 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3.

In this manner, the knife carrier 1 is raised under control of the piston-cylinder unit 9 until the piston of the unit abuts the bottom of the cylinder and the knife carrier 1 then is in its raised position (see FIG. 4).

It will be apparent from FIGS. 2 and 3 that, when the knife carrier 1 is at the end of its cutting stroke, the angle between the longitudinal axis of the piston rod 24 and a line connecting the pivot axis 25 and the axis of the spigot is 90". This is a desirable feature because it provides the most effective leverage for moving the axesj12, 18 and 20 from an in line" position.

Also, it will be apparent that the arrangement of the piston rod 11 and the lever 5 is such that as the knife carrier 1 moves downwardly, excessive downward forces of the knife carrier on the table 2 are avoided and the oil pressure in the cylinder 13 is almost constant during the whole of the cutting stroke.

Furthermore, it will be appreciated that because there is only a short interval between the instant when the switch 27 is operated by the cam 26 and the instant when the axes 12, 18 and 20 are in line, i.e. when the knife carrier is at the end of its cutting stroke, and because the crank mechanism formed by two pivot axes l8 and 20 is near its dead-end position, no significant reversing error will occur even if the signal generated by operation of the switch 27 and actual reversal of the knife carrier 1 take place simultaneously.

The length of the link 17 is adjustable by the means 21 for the purpose of setting the precise instant at which it is desired that the knife carrier 1 is reversed.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the guillotine of this example is similar to the guillotine described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 except that the operating member 28 and the arresting means generally designated 29, are arranged above the knife carrier 30 instead of to one side of the knife carrier as in the previous example.

The arresting means 29 comprisee a link 31 having means 32 for adjusting its length and one end of which is pivotally connected at 33 to one link 34 of a pair of links 34, 35 supporting the knife carrier 30 above a table 36 on a frame (not shown); a lever 37, one end of which is pivotally connected at 38 to the opposite end of the link 31, the pivot 39 of the lever being a cross shaft of the frame; and an auxiliary pistoncylinder unit 40 the piston rod 41 of which is pivotally connected at 42 to the other end of the lever 37.

In operation, the operating member 28 moves the knife carrier 30 towards the table 36 until downward movement of the knife carrier is arrested when the pivot axes 33,38 and 39 are in line. The auxiliary piston-cylinder unit 40 then is operated with a result that the lever 37 is pivoted about the pivot 39 causing the axes 33, 38 and 39 to move from an in line position. The operating member 28 then is free to operate to lift the knife carrier 30 away from the table.

Although the invention has been described by way of examples with reference to a guillotine it may also be applied to other like machines. For example it may be applied to a cutting or creasing machine for cutting out blanks from card. Likewise it may be applied to a pressing or blanking machine embodying a stationary member and a movable member which carries a die towards the stationary member and in which the amount of movement of the movable member must be accurately determined.

It will be appreciated that means other than the means 21 can be used for adjusting the distance between the pivot axis 12 and the spigot 20. For example, the spigot 20 can be a crank mounted in the machine frame and can be rotable by a hand lever. In this manner adjustment of the knife parallel to the table is achieved.

I claim:

1. A guillotine or the like machine having a frame with a member fixed relative thereto and a movable member which is movable towards and away from the fixed member of the machine to process stock disposed between the two members and having arresting means for arresting movement of the movable member, wherein the arresting means includes a pivotable member pivotally mounted on the machine on a first pivot axis, an elongated member one end of which is pivotally connected to the pivotable member at a second pivot axis and the other end of which is pivotally coupled to the movable member at a third pivot axis, means moving the elongated member by the movable member until the third pivot axis connecting the movable member and the elongated member, the second pivot axis connecting the elongated member and the pivotable member and the first pivot axis of the pivotable member are in line and means arresting movement of the movable member when the three said pivot axes are in line.

2. A guillotine or the like machine according to claim 1 wherein the pivotable member is provided with decelerating means for decelerating angular movement of the pivotable member.

3. A guillotine or the like machine according to claim 2 wherein the decelerating means is a hydraulic ram.

4. A guillotine or the like machine according to claim 1 wherein the means arresting movement comprises switch means and an abutment on said pivotable member for engaging the switch means when asid axes are in line.

5. A guillotine or the like machine according to claim I wherein there is provided means for adjusting the distance between the third pivot axis connecting the movable member and the elongated member and the sec- 7. A guillotine or the like machine according to claim nd pivot ans of the pwotable member wherein the adjustable means is arranged to adjust 6. A guillotine or the like machine according to claim 5 wherein the adjustable means is arranged to adjust the length of the elongated member. 5

the position of the pivot axis of the pivotable member. 

1. A guillotine or the like machine having a frame with a member fixed relative thereto and a movable member which is movable towards and away from the fixed member of the machine to process stock disposed between the two members and having arresting means for arresting movement of the movable member, wherein the arresting means includes a pivotable member pivotally mounted on the machine on a first pivot axis, an elongated member one end of which is pivotally connected to the pivotable member at a second pivot axis and the other end of which is pivotally coupled to the movable member at a third pivot axis, means moving the elongated member by the movable member until the third pivot axis connecting the movable member and the elongated member, the second pivot axis connecting the elongated member and the pivotable member and the first pivot axis of the pivotable member are in line and means arresting movement of the movable member when the three said pivot axes are in line.
 2. A guillotine or the like machine according to claim 1 wherein the pivotable member is provided with decelerating means for decelerating angular movement of the pivotable member.
 3. A guillotine or the like machine according to claim 2 wherein the decelerating means is a hydraulic ram.
 4. A guillotine or the like machine according to claim 1 wherein the means arresting movement comprises switch means and an abutment on said pivotable member for engaging the switch means when asid axes are in line.
 5. A guillotine or the like machine according to claim 1 wherein there is provided means for adjusting the distance between the third pivot axis connecting the movable member and the elongated member and the second pivot axis of the pivotable member.
 6. A guillotine or the like machine according to claim 5 wherein the adjustable means is arranged to adjust the length of the elongated member.
 7. A guillotine or the like machine according to claim 5 wherein the adjustable means is arranged to adjust the position of the pivot axis of the pivotable member. 